Akron, Ohio, 13 August 2024 /PRNewswire/ — FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to 12 August 2024with the office of Ohio Attorney General and the Office of the Summit County The prosecutor should settle all outstanding proceedings between the parties.
“We are pleased about the agreement with the Ohio Attorney General and Office of the Summit County Prosecutor’s Office, which recognizes the significant steps that FirstEnergy has taken to establish a highly effective compliance program and to establish a culture of ethics and integrity at all levels of the organization,” said Brian X. TierneyPresident and CEO. “FirstEnergy is a stronger company today under the leadership of a new board and leadership team, motivated by its commitments to our stakeholders and well positioned for the future. Looking forward, we are focused on investing in our regulated electric utilities to improve the customer experience and meet their energy needs today and in the future.”
FirstEnergy is committed to integrity, safety, reliability and operational excellence. Its electric distribution companies form one of the largest investor-owned power systems in the country, serving customers in Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland And new York. The company’s transmission subsidiaries operate approximately 24,000 miles of transmission lines connecting the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Follow FirstEnergy online at www.firstenergycorp.com and on X @FirstEnergyCorp.
Forward-looking statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that are based on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements include statements of management’s intentions, beliefs and current expectations. These statements typically contain, but are not limited to, the words “anticipate,” “potential,” “expect,” “forecast,” “seek,” “will,” “intend,” “believe,” “project,” “estimate,” “plan” and similar words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These may include, but are not limited to, the following factors: the potential liabilities, increased costs and unexpected developments arising from regulatory investigations and settlements, including those relating to compliance or non-compliance with the 21 July 2021 with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio; the risks and uncertainties associated with government investigations and audits related to Ohio House Bill 6 as passed Ohio 133rd General Assembly (“HB 6”) and related matters, including potential adverse impacts on federal or state regulatory matters, including but not limited to matters related to tariffs; the risks and uncertainties associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation and similar proceedings, particularly in connection with HB 6, including risks related to the dismissal of the derivative shareholder lawsuits; changes in national and regional economic conditions, including recession, volatile interest rates, inflationary pressures, supply chain disruptions, higher fuel costs and workforce impacts affecting us and/or our customers and the suppliers with whom we do business; weather fluctuations, such as mild seasonal weather fluctuations and severe weather events (including events caused or exacerbated by climate change such as wildfires, hurricanes, floods, droughts, high wind events and extreme heat events) and other natural disasters affecting future operating results and related regulatory actions or outcomes in response to such conditions; legislative and regulatory developments, including but not limited to matters related to tariffs, energy regulatory policies, compliance and enforcement actions, cybersecurity and climate change; the risks associated with physical attacks, such as acts of war, terrorism, sabotage or other acts of violence, and cyber attacks and other disruptions to our or our suppliers’ information technology systems that may jeopardize our operations, as well as data security breaches of confidential data, intellectual property and proprietary or personal information; the ability to achieve our goals related to employee, environmental, social and governance opportunities, improvements and efficiencies, including our greenhouse gas (“GHG”” reduction goals); the ability to achieve or realize anticipated benefits from establishing a culture of continuous improvement and our other strategic and financial objectives, including, but not limited to, overcoming current uncertainties and challenges related to the ongoing regulatory investigations, implementing Energize365, our transmission and distribution investment plan, implementing our tariff filing strategy, controlling costs, improving creditworthiness, maintaining investment grade ratings and increasing earnings; changing market conditions affecting the measurement of certain liabilities and the value of assets held in our pension funds may adversely affect our projected growth rate and results of operations and may also result in us being required to make contributions to our pension sooner or at a higher level than currently expected; mitigating the risk of remediation activities related to retired and formerly owned power generation facilities, including sites affected by the recently enacted residual coal combustion regulations; Changes in environmental laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, recent regulations adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) relating to climate change; changes in customer demand for electricity, including, but not limited to, economic conditions, the impacts of climate change, new technologies, particularly with respect to electrification, energy storage and distributed energy generation sources; the ability to access public securities and other capital and credit markets pursuant to our financial plans, the cost of such capital and the general state of the capital and credit markets affecting us, including the increasing number of financial institutions assessing the impact of climate change on their investment decisions; future actions by credit rating agencies that could adversely affect our access to or terms of financing or our financial condition and liquidity; changes in assumptions regarding factors such as economic conditions in our territories, the reliability of our transmission and distribution system, the planning of generation resources or the availability of capital or other resources to support identified transmission and distribution investment opportunities; the possibility of non-compliance with credit covenants in our credit facilities; the ability to comply with applicable reliability standards and mandates for energy efficiency and peak load reduction; human capital management challenges, including, among other things, attracting and retaining appropriately trained and qualified employees and work stoppages of our unionized workforce; changes in significant accounting principles; any changes in tax laws or regulations, including but not limited to the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, or adverse results or resolutions of tax audits; and the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in our filings with the SEC. Dividends declared from time to time on FirstEnergy Corp.’s common stock during a period may differ in the aggregate from prior periods due to circumstances considered by FirstEnergy Corp.’s board of directors at the time the actual declarations were made. A security rating is not a recommendation to purchase or hold any security and may be changed or withdrawn by the rating agency at any time. Each rating should be evaluated independently of other ratings. These forward-looking statements are also subject to, and should be read in conjunction with, the risk factors set forth in FirstEnergy Corp.’s Form 10-K and Form 10-Q and FirstEnergy’s other filings with the SEC. Nor should the foregoing review of factors be considered exhaustive. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors or to assess the impact of any such factor on FirstEnergy Corp.’s business or the extent to which any factor or combination of factors may cause results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. FirstEnergy Corp. expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein or in the information incorporated by reference, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
SOURCE: FirstEnergy Corp.
